Accidental tourists:
Exotics at West Hatch
At West Hatch we have the facilities
to hold exotic animals brought to us
by RSPCA Inspectors as cruelty cases,
abandonments and sometimes as
strays until they are transferred to
specialist Centres.
Various species come through our doors,
most commonly Corn Snakes and Bearded
Dragons, although we have had a few odd
cases this year.
We have had two instances of animals
being brought back from abroad in luggage
this year. A Common Wall Gecko/Moorish
Gecko was sadly brought back from Spain in
a suitcase. They are currently not listed as
endangered but are used to a Mediterranean
climate and would likely not survive in
the UK.
Another similar example was an Atlantic
Lizard brought to us from Lanzarote. This
is by far our smallest ever resident at
the Centre. Both of these stayed with us
for a short period of time before being
transferred to specialist Centres. Although
these cases are rare, it is extremely
important to double-check luggage before
coming back to the UK.
Exotics admitted to date
ragon
Bearded D
Corn Snake
o
Common Wall Geck
5 Corn Snakes
2 Tarantulas
1 Bearded Dragon
1 Tortoise (Herman’s)
1 Scorpion
1 Atlantic Lizard
1 Common Wall Gecko
12
Atlantic Lizard